After spending over two decades traveling the world together as a married couple, Mandy and Orlando Ureña returned to Guam to renew their wedding vows — the island where it all started.

Mandy, originally from England, and New York City-native Orlando, met in Japan in the early '90s.

Orlando was stationed in Japan in the Air Force, and instead of waiting through a six-month marriage license process, the couple flew to the nearest American soil to tie the knot.

On May 23, 1994 the two got married at the Superior Court of Guam by now-retired Chief Justice Peter Siguenza on his lunch break, Mandy says. They flew in from Japan and rushed to get married as soon as possible, then spent the rest of the weekend on the water slides at the Pacific Island Club.

“We got all our paperwork and then we ran over to the courthouse, because we only came over for a few days,” she says.

The couple wrote their own vows and recited them at Jimmy Dee’s Beach with 30 friends, 13 bottles of champagne and their dog. They celebrated their 23rd anniversary on the 23rd of May.

“It was quite sentimental and I had tears in my eyes,” Mandy says. “We kind of signed a contract for 23 more years, and we asked Judge Siguenza if we could come back in 23 years and he would do it again. And he laughed because he’s going to be about 90.”

The local musical group Kids from Chuuk sang a capella and played their ukeleles at the sunset ceremony.

Second honeymoon

Since Orlando was stationed on Guam in 2016, the pair have been revisiting restaurants they went to during their brief honeymoon.

“We had our wedding night at Capricciosa, and so we always go there now,” she says. “We like to sit at the same table and order the same thing: carbonara and the calamari tuna salad.”

Returning to their wedding destination has brought back many fond memories for the couple.

“It’s absolutely gorgeous,” Mandy says. “It’s really built up now, but the sunsets are still the most beautiful we’ve ever seen, and the water: 50 shades of aqua, the most beautiful waters we’ve ever seen. So the backdrop was absolutely perfect to do a renewal of our vows.”

Lifelong friendship

During their marriage, the two have lived in Japan, Germany, Spain, New Jersey and now Guam, and have traveled to 59 countries together.

“We’re good travel buddies, we really are,” she says. “We live to travel — any new adventure.”

Mandy says the secret to a long-lasting relationship like theirs is simply friendship.

“We still like each other, and that’s what I said in my vows,” she says. “I said, ‘I still love you, but I still like you.’ We’re best friends and we do everything together.”

Mandy and Orlando Ureña celebrate their vow renewal with friends on May 23, 2017.(Photo: Courtesy of Mandy Ureña)